Commercial roof systems commonly comprise a roof deck system utilized to support a roof membrane. Some of these commercial roof systems comprise a metal deck, such as a sheet of corrugated steel, mounted on a support structure such as steel or wooden roof beams. The metal deck supports a barrier material, such as rigid insulation or lightweight concrete, which, in turn, supports the roof membrane. Along the terminal edges of the roof deck system, pressure treated wood is frequently used as blocking, wherein the wood blocking is supported on the metal deck and lies immediately adjacent to the barrier material.
Several problems have arisen in the foregoing systems. For example, the wood blocking must be custom designed on-site, resulting in a significant increase in construction expense. The on-site nature of the design and construction of conventional systems reduces the quality of the finished product because it is not manufactured under controlled conditions. In addition to difficulties associated with construction, conventional systems have typically not been designed to provide stable support for finished fascia material and other components of roof deck terminations. Further, the wood blocking suffers problems inherent with such materials such as rotting, warping, burning, shrinking, and being subject to attack by termites. The chemicals used in treating the wood blocking to overcome its inherent problems frequently results in corrosion of the metal decks, metal fasteners, and other metal materials in contact with the treated wood. Finally, current low-slope roofing systems do not provide exit venting for the roof deck at its perimeters.
What is needed, and is not found in the prior art, is a roof deck system that overcomes the problems of the foregoing prior art systems. The present invention is related to the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,237,293 to Gembala, 6,751,923 to Nunley, and 7,143,557 to Ayers, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.